Robert Elmore (basketball)

Elmore lived in housing projects in Brooklyn until his family moved to a house in Jamaica, Queens, when he was nine. He was raised alongside his three siblings: brothers Len and Cliff, and sister Laverne. Elmore's first passion was baseball but he was encouraged to play basketball in high school because of his height. When he was around 14, he made the decision to leave his friends to focus on basketball. Elmore's father wanted him to attend Power Memorial Academy in Manhattan where his brother Len was emerging as a basketball player but Elmore decided to stay in Queens where he attended John Adams High School. He was ineligible to play on the school basketball team during his first two years because of his academics. Elmore debuted during his senior year when he averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds per game. He was again declared academically ineligible for the final two games of the season. Elmore did not graduate from high school and received his high school equivalency at Jamaica Vocational School. ==College career==

Elmore enrolled at Wharton County Junior College where he played basketball and averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds per game. He returned to be named as the MVC Newcomer of the Year in 1975 and was a three-time All-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) first-team selection from 1975 to 1977. Elmore was inducted into the Wichita State Shocker Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. ==Professional career==

Elmore was selected by the New Jersey Nets as the first pick of the fourth round in the 1977 NBA draft. He reacted to his drafting: "I was kind of surprised. But they need a center." During a Nets practice session in September, Elmore "showed astounding lack of physical conditioning" and Nets head coach Kevin Loughery remarked that he "has probably never really been in shape in his life." On October 10, Elmore was waived by the Nets. On October 12, 1977, Elmore signed with Lazio Eldorado in Italy; his contract was for $30,000 a year. His Lazio teammate, Abdul Jeelani, remarked that Elmore was "kind of disappointed that he hadn't made the Nets." Elmore played in six games with Lazio and scored 115 points; he ranked third in the league in blocks and fourth in rebounds. Lazio head coach, Giancarlo Asteo, called Elmore "a great player with a great personality." ==Death==

Elmore shared an apartment in Rome with his teammate Jeelani until two weeks before his death when Jeelani's wife arrived and they moved into their own apartment. Lazio's general manager, de Micheli, had been unable to contact Elmore by phone throughout the day; de Micheli and the building's night porter entered Elmore's apartment by smashing the balcony window. Elmore had written earlier to his brother, Cliff, that he had met a local black woman who was a dealer of hashish and cocaine. Elmore was one of three American basketball players to die in Europe during a 13-month span alongside Fessor Leonard in Switzerland and Steve Mitchell in Italy. ==See also==